Nanoscale composites have been composed from a variety of components including hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (see Peng, F; Shaw, M; Olson, J; J. Phys. Chem. 115, 15743-15751 (2011)) for bone engineering and carbon nanotubes for performance composite fibers (see Coleman, J. N; Khan, U; Blau, W. J; Gun'ko Y. K Carbon 44, 1624-1652 (2006). Within the biomedical field, the major existing technology for synthetic biocompatible materials is based on combinations of poly(lactic acid), poly(glycolic acid) and poly(caprolactone) (see Yang, P. J; Temenoff, J. S Tiss Eng. Pt B, 15 127-141 (2009). These materials are currently FDA approved for a variety of applications, however they suffer from acidic decomposition products and fixed degradation rates. In some cases, including vascular stents, they also lack the mechanical rigidity necessary to function.
DLCPs themselves were synthesized in the mid 1990s by Dr. Reza Ghadiri at the Scripps Research Institute; see Hartgerink, J; Granja, J; Milligan, R; Ghadiri, M, J. Am. Chem. Soc 118, 43-50 (1996).